"Your site is a well researched and well written resource for those interested in social enterprise around the world."- BBC World News 'World Challenge'

TED Talk By Richard St. John on Secrets of Success

Success Expert Richard St. John

Richard St. John one of a few successful entrepreneurs and who has achieved corporate success as a ten-year member of scientific staff at Nortel’s R&D labs, as well as entrepreneurial success as founder of the St. John Group. He’s won awards in business communications and become a millionaire, not to mention earned a black belt in judo, cycled halfway around the world on a ten-speed bike, ran over 50 marathons and climbed two mountains. He spend ten years researching the subject of success, including over 500 interviews with people like Bill Gates, Martha Stewart and the Google founders. St. John has also created one of the world’s largest databases on success, and through his research has discovered the 8 traits that successful people have in common. He wrote a best selling book on the subject called 8 To Be Great.

TED Talk By Richard St. John on Secrets of Success

In his TED Talk, Richard St. John gives an overview of the factors that lead to success. He said that the first thing is passion, that people should do what they love and that the money will follow. The next factor is hard work,but when you are doing what you love then the work is also fun. The third factor is focus. In order to be really good at something you’ve got to focus on that one thing. Success also requires pushing oneself in both mental and physical terms in order to overcome obstacles along the way. St. John said kids in his high school talks often tell him that they want to be millionaires, and he tells them that in order to accomplish this they cannot serve themselves. Rather, they have to serve others something of value, because that’s the way that successful entrepreneurs get really rich. Persistence is another key factor, which means persisting through failure and CRAP (criticism, rejection, assholes and pressure.)

Get monthly Social Entrepreneur Funding Report by Matthew Alberto in your inbox

Hey there, My name's Matthew Alberto. I was born in Manila, Philippines, near the slums of Santa Ana, but my family moved to Sydney Australia, where I grew up since I was a small kid. As a Filipino-Australian, and having an understanding of social, economic and environmental issues in both the developing and developed nations, I'm passionate about using my skills and passion to make the world a better place.

I've worked for a number of nonprofits and worldchanging organizations, including the United Nations in Bangladesh, charities in Australia and development organizations in the Philippines. But, after working in the nonprofit sector, I was extremely frustrated. I realized that many old ideas were simply not working and I began tapping into my "entrepreneurial spirit" which was often overlooked and undernourished. Not only that, I began to see and meet many other worldchangers who were using business principles to make a positive difference in a sustainable and scalable way.

Since 2011, I have started, built and grown my own social enterprises, which have been specialising in the using innovative digital technologies to get funding for good causes. My social enterprises have been self-sustaining while impactful, and I work full time everyday passionately as a social entrepreneur.

Here are some key achievements:

I've managed hundreds of thousands of dollars of online fundraising for nonprofits.

I've raised $120,000 in seed funding for one of my social enterprise startups.

I've achieved over $100,000 in government grants for my social enterprise.

I've helped raise over $350,000 for individuals who run private fundraisers to help loved ones.

I'm a medallist of the Pride of Australia Medal.

I've been recognized by Anthill Magazine's 30 Under 30 Entrepreneurs for 2013 and 2014.

This website is my testament to the idea of social entrepreneurship - the belief that you can do good and do well, that you can transform dreams into reality, as well as use entrepreneurial and business principles in changing the world. I also explore digital technologies that are making a positive impact. I believe in the power and potential of social entrepreneurs and changemakers, and I want to inspire you to change the world by giving you tips to get you started, use technology and get funding.